Donating Blood

I am the biggest scaredy cat ever when it comes to any thing involving blood, needles or anything that might cause me a bit of pain. The thought of having an injection or even just taking off a plaster grosses me out and makes my skin crawl, so when I decided to finally make an appointment to donate blood, I was quite shocked with myself!

I've always been funny about any sort of medical procedure, and it does make me feel ill. One time, things got so bad that I fainted just because I cleaned my belly piercing when it was first pierced, and I've had to let a lot of piercings close up because I can never manage to put in new jewellery once I've taken another set out without going light headed. I can't bare the thought of coming into contact with any sort of cut, or pierced hole or anything similar found on our bodies.

It wasn't until my Mum was pregnant with Ronnie that I considered donating blood. There were complications in her pregnancy because my Mum wasn't given an Anti-D injection after one of her previous births, putting Ronnie at a high risk of having his blood contaminated with my Mum's rare blood, which concerned the Doctors. They were prepared to have to give Ronnie a blood transfusion as soon as he was born, as it was likely that he would be born very poorly. Luckily, this wasn't the case, but I registered myself as a blood donor just in case. I felt that if we should need to use somebody else's blood to help Ronnie, then I should donate myself, as it felt wrong to just take and not give back.

Since then, I kept receiving phone calls from the donation centres asking me to come and donate, but I always got too scared and just said that I would do it next time. I finally plucked up the courage and made an appointment to make my first donation for today (1st June)! Baring in mind I have never even had a blood test, I was absolutely terrified because I didn't know what to expect.

I made my way to my local donation centre with my Mum after school. I went to one of the donation lorries rather than an actual building because it was the closest centre to me. I went in and had to fill out a form and read through some leaflets. A man who had just had his blood taken came to sit next to me and we were chatting about what it was like and why we wanted to donate. He was really nice to talk to and calmed me down because I was a bit panicky. 

Next, I went into a little room on the lorry to have a consultation with one of the staff. She asked me various questions about my health and myself in general, and then took a little sample of blood from a finger prick to check whether I was anaemic, which would have meant that I couldn't donate. Some people told me that this is what they found to be the most painful, but I didn't even realise it had been done because I was looking away and I didn't feel anything. 

After this, I went and took a seat on the donation bed as one of the ladies tried to find my veins which she seemed to struggle with. After several attempts, she found a suitable vein and it was time to lay back and let the magic happen. I was so scared, it is ridiculous. 

I closed my eyes and looked away, and before I knew it, the needle was in (gulp). It did hurt a little bit, like a sharp sting, but it wasn't too bad, and as soon as it was in the pain was gone. I always thought that I'd be able to feel the blood flowing but it just felt no different to normal. 

As my blood was taken, I was chatting away to everyone in the room, and I was as calm as ever. I was so happy that it wasn't bad like I thought it would be, and after about 15 minutes, it was all done! They removed the needle, and told me to stay lying down and put pressure on the hole with a cotton pad. This is when things got eventful.

I was still talking to everyone and telling one of the staff about how I wanted to be a History teacher. Then all of a sudden I blacked out and when I woke up I was so confused about where I was. The staff were putting fans on me and trying to make me sip through a straw to take some water. I was so embarrassed and just generally a little bit puzzled about what had happened. One minute I was feeling absolutely fine and really proud of myself for getting through it, and the next I had fainted.

I had to stay lying down for another 10 minutes doing some exercises which are supposed to stop you from feeling faint. After that, I slowly made my way up and was asked to walk up and down the lorry for a bit. As soon as I did this, my ears started ringing, I was shaking and my sight started to blur. This time I knew it was going to happen and down I went again, out like a light. Only I would manage to faint TWICE whilst donating blood *face palm*.

I had to lay down agaaaain, and I've never wanted to just go home more before in my life. I didn't really like being fussed over by everyone, even though I obviously really appreciate the staff for helping me. I knew the staff were waiting to go home and I felt so bad for holding them back. People had come in, had their blood taken and left whilst I was still laying there. The lady said that the reason I was fainting was because my blood pressure kept dropping then raising, which all just got a bit much. I also think that if I hadn't had to put pressure on the hole, I wouldn't have been so bad, because it seems to be that whenever I personally deal with a cut or a wound or anything like that, I seem to feel ill. 

So as first experiences go, I didn't have the greatest, however, I won't let it put me off donating blood in the future. I've already booked my next donation for October, and I hope to continue to do so for as long as I can. I know what I can to do prevent any fainting in the future, and hopefully the more I do it, the better it will be for me.

Hopefully my experience won't put anybody off giving blood. It is such an amazing thing to do, and it honestly isn't too bad at all (even if you do faint). On the bonus side, you also get free biscuits, so it's a win win situation - save a life and get free food. 

To register yourself as a blood donor, please visit www.blood.co.uk. 

Have you ever donated blood?

Have you even received donated blood and if so,

 how did it save your life?